I Use A Rebel t3i and I'm just looking for feedback on some videos

my name is No Mercy. i'm a rapper/photographer/video director. I just purchased my rebel t3i in december 2011 and i use final cut pro for editing.

The equipment i use is the lens that came with it and i also have a 75mm-300mm lens. I also have a 160 LED light that attaches to the camera.

I'm just getting into this stuff and don't know too much as far as cameras go so i signed up here to get feedback and to look for tips to get better. could you guys take some time to watch these videos and tell me how good or bad i'm doing up to this point.

Very first music video i did

A basketball game i taped at night. (this i where i learned about 24fps, 30fps, and 60fps. i shot in 24 smh)

One of my more recent videos where i had just about everything down packed

The first video where i used my 75mm-300mm lens

As of recent i've been learning about turning the iso down to reduce grain but that also means i'm going to need more light in certain videos i shoot. but i plan to use these stage lights that come with my green screen.

The leap you've made from first video to the most recent is a pretty good one. The usage of effects in the first music video, I thought, had fairly good pacing since it enhanced the movement of the visuals rather than becoming a distraction. There are definitely more advanced effects happening in the more recent videos, and my only suggestion is to be careful of when and where you use those snazzy effects. In your more recent video there's a close-up on the subject and a flickering effect going on at the same time, it became hard to see what it was your subject was actually doing or even to really see his face. Close-ups are intimate shots, used to showcase an emotion or reaction at a pertinent part of a story, the effects should also do the same for these shots (if you choose to use them).

For the handheld shots in your music videos, are you using a monopod or an XGrip type rig? The handheld style can do some really cool things for videos (it really worked for your videos' style) but if you've got a fairly shaky hand, it can make your audience uncomfortable. Think 'Blair Witch'. Monopods and XGrip rigs can give you the same look with more stability.

In the second to last video, it looked as if your subjects were sometimes standing with their backs to the sun? This created a heavy shadow over your subjects' face while blowing out the whites in your background. I know people typically hate standing with their eyes facing the sun, so I'm guessing you were trying to make them more comfortable. Try using a reflector to bounce the light (white poster boards from office supply stores or reflectors from your car windshield work awesome) back in to their faces. That way, you can readjust your camera's ISO settings that won't allow for the background whites to be so... bright and your subjects don't have to stand with the sun in their eyes. And if your whites are still washed out, back them down in FCP using the 3 Way Color Corrector.

With music videos in general, try doing some story telling that goes along with the performance. I bet these artists have some extremely interesting things to say in their lyrics. Get some visuals going to portray what they're communicating. It can get incredibly time consuming, but it'll just give you more opportunities to try new things, both technically and creatively.

Other than that, your videos show a great deal of growth. It's obvious that you're trying new things and applying new methods to each new video. Thanks for sharing your work, I know it can be nerve wracking to throw your projects up to strangers for critique, but you're looking for ways to honestly improve and for that, I give you mad kudos! Keep growing, keep learning, that's all we're ever doing in this field anyway.

I actually use my hands for most of my material but I do have a tripod. The monopod sounds like something I'd use for moving/walking shots. That's something I definitely want to get into using.

As far as the storytelling that's something I also want to do. I think in my circle we need to do more executing than just talking about it all the time. Our only issue is we need more apartments buildings etc to shoot in.

Another funny thing is that first video was 700mb smh. I was using iMovie but after that I got FCPX and compressor and was able to reduce the file size